Roots: Jack London, Inuit and Native American Legend, specifically
those of Adlivum ('The Land of the Dead'), Sedna the monstrous sea-mother,
and Tulungusaq - the Raven father and creator of man. Jurassic Park
("nature finds a way", plus a foolhardy millionaire resurrecting extinct
species). The Doctor quotes Alice in Wonderland ("Curiouser and
curiouser"), possibly misquotes Macbeth ("lead on..."), and also references
Clement Moore's A Visit from Saint Nicholas ("Twas the night before
Christmas...'). Monica Lewis' name is purportedly, based on Monica Lewinsky.
Little Red Riding Hood ("My, what big teeth you have")

Goofs: For a good deal of the story the Doctor and Monica spend
their time in frigid Arctic seawater with no ill-effects. Tulung refers
to the Land Rover's 'bonnet' [i.e. British term] rather than 'hood' [US
term] - perhaps he picked this up from Brett?

Monica's reaction to the freezing flood gathering around her is to
describe it: 'Five hundred thousand gallons of water!'

Dialogue Triumphs: "Are you lost?" "We know this is Alaska."

The Doctor's constant and impolite hints at wanting a cup of tea constantly
end up having him make it instead.

'Shall we risk a look?' 'No.' 'Good, here we go then!'

Continuity: The 'Permians' as they are named by the Doctor were
the top of the food chain in the Permian Era, some 260 million years before
the present, and pre-dating the dinosaurs by 30 million years. Living,
intelligent creatures, they rapaciously consume energy from living matter,
including their own flesh, leaving only bone and cartilage animated by
a bioelectric field powerful enough to induce fear in the creature's prey.
This field concentrates intense heat that strips flesh from bone, and effectively
hybridises the Permians with their devoured prey (this energy field is
enough to enable the TARDIS to trace them to 1994). Among this prey are
Arctic mammals and such mammal-like reptiles from their era such as the
Sauricean Therapod, generally believed to have been the top predator of
the Permian Era. Their predation was intense, and like many predators they
also fed from their own species, but [the Doctor theorises] ultimately led
to the end of their
era in a mass extinction event that claimed 96 percent of the planet's
fauna. [The real Permian Era ended with a catastrophic mass extinction
around 185 millions years before the present. The cause for this event
is postulated to have been global cooling and carbon dioxide poisoning
following massive volcanic activity between 238 and 230 million years ago].
Permians have the ability to influence other intelligences - normally a
human should be able to resist this. Nyssa is subject to their influence,
experiencing visions and feelings of dread, and thus is regarded by Tulung
as his 'tornaq', or guardian spirit (Nyssa seems to have an emerging telepathic
ability, sensing various things). She mentions the loss of her father
and world, and creates a makeshift spectroscope using ion bonding.

Brett's team established itself at Koyukuk some time ago - Monica has
already been there for three years giving it 'some local colour'. She is
currently decorating the interior of Brett's 'monumental' house, which
contains rooms created with (respectively) stone, timber, ice, earth and
bone - all sourced from the immediate region. Beyond these are the cliff
wall and the sea room, an expanse of real shoreline including 500,000 gallons
of seawater, and various species of native wildlife including sea lions
and walruses under a holographic moon. The room is furthermore enhanced
by virtual [mechanically induced] tides.

Links: In Episode 1 Nyssa asks the Doctor 'Is [Alaska] near where
we left Tegan?' and in Episode 3 says to Tulung 'the Doctor told us- told
me...', suggesting that this may only be a matter of a week or so since the
events of 'Time Flight'.'Arc of Infinity' (The scanner audio circuits aren't
reliable).

Untelevised Adventures: The Doctor describes Peter the Great's
venture to find Alaska, although he may not necessarily have been present.

Future History: The Doctor uses a laser scalpel and says 'every
home should have one - or will have one'.

Location: The Koyukuk region, Alaska 1964, 1994.

The Bottom Line: 'Land' has an irritating villain, an irritating
supporting female, an irritating
'native' and a feckless Doctor. No wonder Nyssa's confused. There's an
attempt to be politically correct in its portrayal of Inuit culture, but
so much of it comes across as mere stereotyping with its 'Johnny Old Man'
and 'Little Tulung', confused half-castes and stoical old timers. Worryingly,
among two neighbouring stories which exploit the audio medium ('Whispers'
and 'Fearmonger'), there is an over-reliance upon expository dialogue.